....Because Crime has yet to Pay to date.
You a n00b smuggler down on your luck? A scurvy veteran space faring Pirate? Lawless anarchist criminal with a bounty on your head? Completely amoral veteran Ganker, who accidentally seal clubbed some green, gullible n00bs brand new and shiny Sidey/Adder/Hauler? Especially while they were attempting to leave the station landing pad on their virgin flight? Congratulations! You've earned the Hard Time achievement with promotion to Grunt ship breaker. Where you're sentenced to ship breaking whatever monetary value damages/insurance costs you managed to wrack up when busted by NPC law enforcement (or that try hard Cmndr bounty hunter).
With Blackbird Interactive's release of Hardspace: Shipbreaker, FDev could use some superior inspiration on how to revamp the C&P system. Instead of re-aquainting the player with the existing rebuy screen, FDev could add a new isolated system. Where it introduces a new game play loop feature the likes of Hardspace (which actually makes the player THINK in a timed problem solve mini game scenario). A C&P feature like this would definitely provide a dynamic alternative to punish PvE, PvP and griefer PvP criminals alike.
Imagine getting busted for smuggling hundreds of millions in cargo consisting of slaves, stolen goods, contraband. Or got caught by the opposing PP faction trying to sabotage their installations. Or seal clubbing some poor, unsuspecting n00b graduate who just left the starter system in their new Sidey. Then waking up after being on the wrong side of the law to find yourself drafted. End your shift after a challenging day's work ship breaking. Get #Woke to reality on your debt to polite society after seeing this i.e Only 977,665,249 credits to go.....
And then recognizing you're condemned to ship break valuable salvage until your debt to the galaxy is paid. Where each salvage operation is on a TIMED basis. And every successful salvage run count down your prison timer. Because each salvage drop gets deposited as positive credits against your negative insurance rebuy/damage balance.
Die/fail in each timed attempt = contract mission over = permadeath. Where you loose everything salvaged and must start over with a new contract. The more you fail/die, the more negative your reputation with the Prison Colony authorities. The more negative your reliability as a ship breaker, the easier the contracts and crappier the salvage mission payout. So the longer you would remain in purgatory marking time.
HOWEVER,
With each successful salvage, the faster you would payoff your debt. And be free to leave once you pass the break even balance. But once you leave, you can't return until you receive another bounty/wanted status. So if you wanted to exploit a sandbox option to continue making credits this way, you could opt to REMAIN in the system as a released convict. Until you made enough surplus money to buy a bigger/better ship etc. Or just take your former impounded ship and depart the system.
So this is yet another suggestion for an overhaul of the C&P system. Because once you've grounded enough credits (aka in magnitude of 1 billion+), there's really not much point to the "P" in this C&P rebuy feature. Currently, Cmndrs who get killed with a bounty, or who get caught/have their ship destroyed by law enforcement (from transporting hot/wanted ships/modules/cargo) simply default to the safety of the rebuy screen. Where (just like law abiding Cmndrs who get their ships destroyed for non illegal reasons) get to play their get out of jail free card using their insurance. Which is basically a slap on the wrist if their account balance is northwards toward the 100 million+ credit end.
Note: The term "criminal" doesn't refer to "innocent" criminals the likes of n00bs or vet players who accidentally violate station docking protocols etc. These infractions would be misdemeanors ranging from a stiff fine to the rebuy screen (if ship vaporized by the station or law enforcement). The existing C&P system doesn't really discriminate between a Cmndr stealing from the cookie jar v. murdering their Grandmother. It needs an overhaul so that career criminal Cmndrs would come to truly appreciate the meaning of serving time. So the term "criminal" applies to supporting/joining PP factions (which brands Cmndrs as enemy criminals to opposing factions), mail slot queue ramming griefers, seal clubbers, and general gankers alike. All of these would be sentenced to serve genuine hard time. Which would be equivalent to the millions in their ship victim rebuy + whatever bounties and/or reported damages they acquired at the time of their ship destruction.
Where the C&P system changes: The event where the wanted Cmndr fights the interdiction and is killed. Or surrenders to arrest by either Law Enforcement NPC or Cmndr Bounty Hunter:
In this case, their ship is seized and impounded. But instead of being transported to the nearest Prison Ship (now restricted to minor infractions and low bounty ratings), they're transported to the nearest Penal Colony. Located in an asteroid field or lone base planet side in new, permit locked star systems. Where the criminal Cmndrs join a space convict chain gang---as the newest n00b Ship Breaker grunt.
You a n00b smuggler down on your luck? A scurvy veteran space faring Pirate? Lawless anarchist criminal with a bounty on your head? Completely amoral veteran Ganker, who accidentally seal clubbed some green, gullible n00bs brand new and shiny Sidey/Adder/Hauler? Especially while they were attempting to leave the station landing pad on their virgin flight? Congratulations! You've earned the Hard Time achievement with promotion to Grunt ship breaker. Where you're sentenced to ship breaking whatever monetary value damages/insurance costs you managed to wrack up when busted by NPC law enforcement (or that try hard Cmndr bounty hunter).
With Blackbird Interactive's release of Hardspace: Shipbreaker, FDev could use some superior inspiration on how to revamp the C&P system. Instead of re-aquainting the player with the existing rebuy screen, FDev could add a new isolated system. Where it introduces a new game play loop feature the likes of Hardspace (which actually makes the player THINK in a timed problem solve mini game scenario). A C&P feature like this would definitely provide a dynamic alternative to punish PvE, PvP and griefer PvP criminals alike.
Imagine getting busted for smuggling hundreds of millions in cargo consisting of slaves, stolen goods, contraband. Or got caught by the opposing PP faction trying to sabotage their installations. Or seal clubbing some poor, unsuspecting n00b graduate who just left the starter system in their new Sidey. Then waking up after being on the wrong side of the law to find yourself drafted. End your shift after a challenging day's work ship breaking. Get #Woke to reality on your debt to polite society after seeing this i.e Only 977,665,249 credits to go.....
And then recognizing you're condemned to ship break valuable salvage until your debt to the galaxy is paid. Where each salvage operation is on a TIMED basis. And every successful salvage run count down your prison timer. Because each salvage drop gets deposited as positive credits against your negative insurance rebuy/damage balance.
Die/fail in each timed attempt = contract mission over = permadeath. Where you loose everything salvaged and must start over with a new contract. The more you fail/die, the more negative your reputation with the Prison Colony authorities. The more negative your reliability as a ship breaker, the easier the contracts and crappier the salvage mission payout. So the longer you would remain in purgatory marking time.
HOWEVER,
With each successful salvage, the faster you would payoff your debt. And be free to leave once you pass the break even balance. But once you leave, you can't return until you receive another bounty/wanted status. So if you wanted to exploit a sandbox option to continue making credits this way, you could opt to REMAIN in the system as a released convict. Until you made enough surplus money to buy a bigger/better ship etc. Or just take your former impounded ship and depart the system.
So this is yet another suggestion for an overhaul of the C&P system. Because once you've grounded enough credits (aka in magnitude of 1 billion+), there's really not much point to the "P" in this C&P rebuy feature. Currently, Cmndrs who get killed with a bounty, or who get caught/have their ship destroyed by law enforcement (from transporting hot/wanted ships/modules/cargo) simply default to the safety of the rebuy screen. Where (just like law abiding Cmndrs who get their ships destroyed for non illegal reasons) get to play their get out of jail free card using their insurance. Which is basically a slap on the wrist if their account balance is northwards toward the 100 million+ credit end.
Note: The term "criminal" doesn't refer to "innocent" criminals the likes of n00bs or vet players who accidentally violate station docking protocols etc. These infractions would be misdemeanors ranging from a stiff fine to the rebuy screen (if ship vaporized by the station or law enforcement). The existing C&P system doesn't really discriminate between a Cmndr stealing from the cookie jar v. murdering their Grandmother. It needs an overhaul so that career criminal Cmndrs would come to truly appreciate the meaning of serving time. So the term "criminal" applies to supporting/joining PP factions (which brands Cmndrs as enemy criminals to opposing factions), mail slot queue ramming griefers, seal clubbers, and general gankers alike. All of these would be sentenced to serve genuine hard time. Which would be equivalent to the millions in their ship victim rebuy + whatever bounties and/or reported damages they acquired at the time of their ship destruction.
- The criminal Cmndr can attempt to beat the interdiction mini game or voluntarily submit (best strategy if interdicted by Bounty Hunter Cmndr.
- Once interdicted, the NPC law enforcement/bounty hunter Cmndr scans the ship as normal.
- If Cmndr is already wanted and/or is carrying illegal or illicit cargo/hot modules, an account wide bounty (the value of the hot cargo/modules + wanted ship + player wanted bounty) is immediately flagged in the C&P system. But this bounty is only restricted to the current hot ship the Cmndr is flying and not their fleet.
- If the wanted Cmndr successfully evades law enforcement/Cmndr bounty hunter detection then they can payoff their bounty or wait for it to expire as before under current C&P system.The bounty flag is removed from the player and/or their ship and cargo.
- If the wanted Cmndr gets scanned by law enforcement NPC, they can either beat/escape the interdiction mini game as before. Or submit to fight, or submit to surrender and be arrested.
- If the wanted Cmndr gets scanned by a Cmndr bounty hunter, they have the same options as before. But with with an extra option of surrender to negotiate. The wanted Cmndr could try to negotiate their release with the Bounty Hunter Cmndr. This would be done by using bribes to transfer a negotiated amount of clean/hot cargo to the bounty hunter (who would use that for their personal gain). Once both parties agree to the bribery amount, the Bounty Hunter would remove the wanted rating from the criminal Cmndr on the spot. The Criminal Cmndr is free to resume their business looting and pillaging the galaxy. If said negotiation fails, both parties default to the existing fight or evade/escape tactics.
Where the C&P system changes: The event where the wanted Cmndr fights the interdiction and is killed. Or surrenders to arrest by either Law Enforcement NPC or Cmndr Bounty Hunter:
In this case, their ship is seized and impounded. But instead of being transported to the nearest Prison Ship (now restricted to minor infractions and low bounty ratings), they're transported to the nearest Penal Colony. Located in an asteroid field or lone base planet side in new, permit locked star systems. Where the criminal Cmndrs join a space convict chain gang---as the newest n00b Ship Breaker grunt.